Memory crystal are small pentagon crystals that have the ability to store energy. They are made of an unknown crystal that seem to have the ability to store not only psionic energy, but magical energy as well, making them truly unique, and usable for a wide variety of things. At one time the material must have been plentiful, as there seemed to be a large supply of memory crystals in Nor's past. As of today though, no deposits of the crystal has been found.
We know that the crystals were used for several thing, including powering devices, but the two most common uses we have seen of them have been as light sources, and as repository for knowledge. When placed in to a crystal reader, The reader produces an audio and visual illusion, depicting the contents of the crystal. It is believed that this illusion was a factual capture of the crystal's sounds at the time the crystal was used. Scholars believed that there must have been another device used to imprint the capture into the crystal, but non have been found. In fact only two devices capable of reading the crystals have been discovered, though most believe that many more exist.
The Crystals have been found in quite a few locations over Nor. While one may crop up here and there, collection of them are usually found in ancient sites that people gathered. They seem to has been in use the most during the time of the First Shadow War. It is believed that due to the rarity of paper at the time, the crystals were used exclusively to hold information like we use books today.
Readers are another matter entirely. Only two have been found, and one was destroyed. Both were found, along with the largest source of crystals, in fortresses that were used as sanctuary during the first Shadow War. It is believed by most that there were several of these large fortress cities, but the only verified one left is the Fortress of Light in Armador. Unfortunately the Order of Illumination has sealed off the room that contains the reader and denied all access to it, or the memory crystals contained there, as they believe the magic that powers the device may have a corrupting influence.
The lack of a reader also makes it difficult to find out which of the crystals actually hold information and which had other purposes. All attempts at divination of their purposed by magic or other means has failed to give accurate results. Because of this, Crystals are seen as novelties, but not very valuable. This means there may be people with untold treasures of informaiton walkign around, thinking thier crystal does nothing but shed a bit of light.
Memory Crystals